


Come Visit The Wild Country of the Pacific Northwest

by Anthrobrat



Series: Whatever This Is (McShifty) [4]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: M/M, McClung was so worried, Post-War, Shifty's Injury, Tiny Bit of Hurt/Comfort, shoulder kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27038860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anthrobrat/pseuds/Anthrobrat
Summary: Shifty finally makes it home after his car accident in Austria and is greeted by a letter from McClung asking him to take a trip west.Prompt: Shoulder Kisses for KissTober
Relationships: Earl McClung/Shifty Powers
Series: Whatever This Is (McShifty) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990171
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19
Collections: Band of Boyfriends Kisstober Challenge 2020





	Come Visit The Wild Country of the Pacific Northwest

**Author's Note:**

> I was bored on the night of the 15th and no one claimed shoulder kisses, so here's a shoulder kiss. It's also kind of a scar kiss? Anyway, I'm sorry if it's terrible, but I just love them. 
> 
> As always, this story is based on the HBO characters, and I have utmost respect for the men who served with the 101st.

Shifty never got a purple heart for his injuries during the war. A car accident on his way home was not the same as being wounded by the enemy, and thus he had nothing to show for his months spent in hospitals when he finally got out of Austria. 

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He had letters. Earl’s letters followed him from the hospital in France, to England, and then New York and finally home. The letter addressed to his mama’s house was waiting for him when he made it back, as if he had told his good friend to expect him. He wasn’t sure how Earl knew exactly when he was supposed to get home, but he knew the man was magic so he didn’t really need to know beyond that. He merely staggered up to his room, sat down on his old bed, and ripped the envelope open.

There on the pages was an invitation to visit the “wild back country of the Pacific Northwest,” a joke that had become theirs somewhere between the rifle range in Fort Bragg and their bunks in Aldbourne. Shifty tried to keep himself from vibrating clean apart in excitement over seeing the other side of the country and seeing Earl again. He’d missed Earl in a way that he hadn’t quite expected. In a way that was different than how he had missed his friend Popeye, who would probably show up to bang on the door sooner rather than later. 

Low and behold, Popeye had showed up on his doorstep no more than two days after he had, and his first order of business was to convince Shifty that he needed to leave on the next train out. 

“He brought the whole company’s morale down with his moping when we lost you. Carrying on about not getting to say goodbye, how you coulda died. Then he disappeared into the woods and I swear I only saw him again on the troop ship.”

Now Shifty knew that was a lie, that McClung would never miss a reveille, but it made him think maybe he wasn’t the only one who felt a little different. So he sent a telegraph about his arrival and bought himself a train ticket clear across the continent. He worried Mama’d think he was a little crazy, but after everything they saw maybe they needed a little good. 

The train across America was much more comfortable than the trains they’d taken in England and Germany, and he arrived in Washington relatively well rested to see Earl standing by his dusty old pickup. Hat in his hand, he waved at Shifty as soon as he saw him like he’d been waiting there since the moment he’d received that telegram. 

They shook hands in a way they hadn’t before and the formality of it threw him. It was hard, he supposed, after all this time, but then Earl let go and pulled him into a bear hug. The hug was also something they hadn’t done before, but it sure felt better than the stupid handshake. Earl laughed into his ear but otherwise didn’t say much as they climbed into the truck and headed back to his little house on the edge of the res. 

“You’re not living with your parents anymore?” Shifty asked as they pulled into the driveway at the end of a long dirt road.

“Got too crowded. I needed my space. What about you?”

“Well I wasn’t home long enough to need space before you called me here, remember?” Shifty punched his arm for good measure and laughed. “Hadn’t even unpacked. Still haven’t unpacked! I just picked the duffle back off the floor and headed to the train station.”

As they hoisted Shifty’s bag from the bed of the truck, a slight drizzle started to fall. By the time Earl had shown him around the house and to the couch he’d be sleeping on (with profuse apologies and rebutted assurances that Shifty could take the bed), the drizzle had turned into a right downpour. 

“I suppose my plans to take you out to the creek might have to wait,” Earl said from his spot at the window.

“That’s alright, I’m tired anyway. Can we sit out on the porch instead?”

So McClung grabbed a six pack of beers from the fridge and they headed to the porch. It turned out Shifty was much less well rested than he had thought, because he was soon struggling to keep his eyes open. He’d forgotten how soothing Earl’s presence was, until he was being half carried into the house and deposited on the couch.

“I’ll let you get some sleep, and we can start fresh tomorrow,” Earl whispered as he untied Shifty’s boots and pulled the blanket up to his chest. Shifty tried to reach out, to keep him from retreating, to stay in his presence a little longer, but the next thing he knew it was morning and the smell of breakfast and coffee was wafting toward him.

“Hey Shifty, you wanna go swimming out at the creek this afternoon?” Earl asked as he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. “Looks like the sun’s finally out.”

“That sounds just fine. Should we pack lunch or fish in the creek?”

“Would you hate me if I packed us sandwiches?”

“Not at all Earl,” Shifty said with a smile as Earl turned to retreat back to the stove. 

The muscles in his back were fascinating. The man was all sleek power with never a calorie of energy wasted on excess movement. His feet always fell exactly in a line, quiet as ever as he moved through the house. Shifty knew that Earl was an adept hunter, clearly the muscle memory translated even at breakfast time. 

Shifty didn’t know what he was expecting, but McClung’s “creek” was definitely a river. It was about 100 feet wide and deep enough to swim and perfectly clear, and Shifty wanted to dive right in. Earl apparently had the same idea, because before Shifty could mention how nice it looked the man had taken a running start and dove into the crystal water in nothing but his skivvies. 

Following his lead, Shifty took off his shirt and then his pants and ran into the water, leaving their sacks of food behind. Hopefully the bears were otherwise occupied, because his sandwich had looked good enough that he’d fight one for it. 

The first thing he did when he reached McClung was to jump on him and dunk his head under the water. As Earl came up, sputtering and cursing his mama, Shifty just laughed and flipped onto his back. He should’ve known that wouldn’t be the end of it, but as Earl grabbed him around the waist and dragged him under, that familiar funny floaty feeling returned to his belly.

He fought valiantly to return the favour, but without the element of surprise he was no match for his best friend. Then suddenly the point of the game shifted from trying to drown him to trying not to lose contact. Shifty wasn’t sure if this was a game they both were playing, but it still suited him just fine. 

After a while, his bum shoulder, his  _ injury _ that he couldn’t call a  _ wound _ began to act up so they trudged back to the beach to eat. The sandwich Earl had made that morning was just as good as he’d expected, and their bond was too. It was like no time had passed at all. Sitting shoulder to shoulder, Earl told him all about the hunting he’d done since he’d been back, and Shifty regaled him with stories of funny nurses and curmudgeonly doctors and Popeye’s meddlesome tendencies. 

When Shifty moved to stretch once more and Earl asked about the accident the mood turned unexpectedly somber. There were a lot of things that haunted him about the war, but that moment, thinking he was finally safe only to wake up broken on a roadside, had laid him low. 

“Does it hurt you like that often?” Earl asked, eyes drawn to the scar that stretched from his shoulder blade over his joint and halfway down his arm.

“Only sometimes. Depends on how I use it, the weather, those kinds of things.” Shifty shrugged his achy shoulder like it was no big deal. Earl reached his hand up and traced the line of the scar, making him have to hold back a shiver.

“Just wasn’t right how it happened. I was so worried I didn’t say goodbye.”

“I’m right sorry about that, if I’d known they’d make me leave so soon I woulda come up to find you instead of going off to talk to Major Winters.”

Earl caught his eye then, and held it as he dipped his mouth down and pressed a chaste kiss to Shifty’s shoulder, right at the edge of the joint. When Shifty’s only response was to exhale the breath he’d been holding, Earl went back a second time, kissing the same spot but holding it for longer. Then he dipped his head down and nudged his nose along the scar. 

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he whispered. After another moment he finally raised his head to look Shifty in the eye. “And I’m glad you’re here.”

Closing his eyes, Shifty leaned their foreheads together.

“Me too, Earl. Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there are glaring typos, errors, or inconsistencies. 
> 
> As always, comments are love and sometimes they lead to wonderful friendships.


End file.
